Packers Wrap Up Playoff Berth With Dominating Effort

The Green Bay Packers destroyed the Seattle Seahawks 48-10 and in conjunction with a loss by the New York Giants, wrapped up their first playoff berth in the Aaron Rodgers era.

The Packers’ defense was dominant again, rebounding from their terrible performance in Pittsburgh a week earlier. They intercepted Seahawks’ quarterback Matt Hasselbeck four times and sacked him three times, while giving up 291 total yards, many of which came in garbage time.

Atari Bigby had two interceptions and the Packers’ secondary was stout against Seattle’s air attack. Deion Branch led the Seahawks with meager 53 yards receiving and Hasselbeck finished with only 198 yards.

The Packers were efficient on offense, but did most of their damage with big plays. Greg Jennings had four receptions for 111 yards, a 27.8 yard average. Ryan Grant scored two touchdowns, but his 56-yard TD run in the second quarter, which put the Packers ahead 21-3, essentially ended any thought Seattle had about staying with the Packers on Sunday.

Unlike the week before, the entire Packers’ team played tough football and seized the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot. It’s the kind of effort you want to see from a team after a tough, last-second loss.

Even a couple of the Packers’ usual heels had nice days.

Cornerback Jarrett Bush, who has been a target for opposing quarterbacks the entire season, came up with a nice interception, and with a couple exceptions, generally played solid coverage.

Kicker Mason Crosby, who had missed a kick in four consecutive games coming in, made both of his field goal attempts, with a long of 52 yards.

All around, an impressive effort to right the ship and make last week look like an aberration.

I’m still have no faith in Crosby however. He finally made it through a game without missing a field goal, but they were hardly pressure kicks. In the Playoffs when the there is a lot more on the line, I just don’t see him pulling off a 40+ yard game winning or game tieing field goal.